Pay packages unchanged for five years as Finance Division remains reluctant to approve proposed increases for university
KARACHI:
Scientific researchers working in public universities in Pakistan have seen their salaries remain frozen for the past five years, with the finance department reportedly unwilling to approve salary increases. Sources say the 2026-27 federal budget is unlikely to include any improvement in their pay packages, including Ph.D. and other professional allowances.
The prolonged wage stagnation and the absence of meaningful relief in the upcoming budget has heightened concerns about a growing brain drain, with fears that many of the country’s brightest researchers may seek opportunities abroad.
Researchers struggling with financial pressures say they are increasingly forced to take on externally funded projects to supplement their incomes, often at the expense of their core research activities.
Speaking to The Express Pakinomist, a researcher working under the Tenure Track System (TTS) said, “We are now trying to secure scientific projects from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and other institutions to make ends meet. Although this affects our primary research work, we don’t have much choice.”
The Tenure Track system was introduced by noted scientist and former HEC Chairman Atta-ur-Rahman to attract highly qualified academics and researchers to the universities. Most TTS faculty members have PhD degrees from foreign institutions. However, due to stagnant salaries, many researchers have already left academia, leaving only about 3,600 TTS researchers in the system.
Sources said that when TTS appointments were first introduced, salaries were roughly double the Basic Pay Scale (BPS) system because TTS faculty were subject to significantly stricter performance indicators and their work was reviewed every three years by international experts.
However, after five years without salary adjustment, TTS salaries have fallen well behind those of BPS faculty members. A task force set up by the Planning Commission of Pakistan headed by Ahsan Iqbal recommended in March this year that the TTS salaries be aligned with the salary structure of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics along with a 35 percent premium.
The recommendations were subsequently approved by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, which directed the Finance Department to implement salary increases based on the proposed formula. HEC has also formally written to the Finance Department on the matter.
Despite this development, sources say the finance department remains reluctant to accept the recommendations.
According to available figures, a BPS professor in a university currently earns nearly Rs500,000 a month, while a TTS professor takes home around Rs350,000 after tax deductions. Similarly, a BPS Associate Professor earns approximately Rs 400,000, compared to around Rs 250,000 for a TTS Associate Professor. A BPS Assistant Professor earns around Rs.325,000 while a TTS Assistant Professor receives around Rs.150,000. after tax.
Several researchers at the University of Karachi’s Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IBCCS) continue to produce high-quality research under the TTS framework, but their salaries remain frozen despite their academic contributions.
